Title:Shadow of NightAuthor: Deborah Harkness
Publisher/Publication Date: Viking Adult, July 10, 2012
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Source/Format: Won Paperback
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Synopsis from Goodreads...
IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES...
Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened. Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...
My Thoughts:
I decided to begin with this book simply because I won a copy and I wanted to see what Harkness’s writing was like before I made any definite decisions to pick up the other two books in the trilogy. So let me just say that I’m going to need A Discovery of Witches & The Book of Life, because Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness was fantastic. Needless to say, I have no idea why it took me so long to get to this trilogy.
The story follows Matthew and Diana after they’ve landed in 1590 in search of Ashmole 782 and a witch to help Diana with her magic. The two suffered no shortage of issues during their time in the past. And despite their adventure taking them to several places, trouble always seemed to follow them. Part of the problem stemmed from Matthew’s many secrets, which ultimately led them into several situations that I can’t be specific about. The secondary characters were interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how the Matthew from the future interacted with his friends from the past.
Going into this book I was unfamiliar with the characters and the situations they were currently in, but I didn’t have a problem with that fact. There was enough detail provided as the story moved along that I was able to understand the situation and circumstances that had led Diana and Matthew to travel through time. I enjoyed the plot and the writing was something I could get into. The descriptions were just wonderful. The detail made it easier to picture the historical setting, and I enjoyed how everything was vividly described. I could really see the work that went into building the world of Shadow of Night, and I appreciated the attention to detail.
Overall, I liked this book, and I’m definitely interested in getting the rest of the trilogy.
I decided to begin with this book simply because I won a copy and I wanted to see what Harkness’s writing was like before I made any definite decisions to pick up the other two books in the trilogy. So let me just say that I’m going to need A Discovery of Witches & The Book of Life, because Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness was fantastic. Needless to say, I have no idea why it took me so long to get to this trilogy.
The story follows Matthew and Diana after they’ve landed in 1590 in search of Ashmole 782 and a witch to help Diana with her magic. The two suffered no shortage of issues during their time in the past. And despite their adventure taking them to several places, trouble always seemed to follow them. Part of the problem stemmed from Matthew’s many secrets, which ultimately led them into several situations that I can’t be specific about. The secondary characters were interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how the Matthew from the future interacted with his friends from the past.
Going into this book I was unfamiliar with the characters and the situations they were currently in, but I didn’t have a problem with that fact. There was enough detail provided as the story moved along that I was able to understand the situation and circumstances that had led Diana and Matthew to travel through time. I enjoyed the plot and the writing was something I could get into. The descriptions were just wonderful. The detail made it easier to picture the historical setting, and I enjoyed how everything was vividly described. I could really see the work that went into building the world of Shadow of Night, and I appreciated the attention to detail.
Overall, I liked this book, and I’m definitely interested in getting the rest of the trilogy.
5/5
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